Defenders Vol 1 62
** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Antagonists: * Other Characters: * * * * * * *Unnamed horses of the Richmond Riding Academy. * * * Stormtroopers * * * Creature from the Black Lagoon/Gill-man. * * * * * Races and Species: * * * * * * * * * Wookiee Locations: * ** *** * * * ** * * Items: * * * * * * * * . A teleportation cloak used by Hellcat. * * Vehicles: * | Notes = * While this story features many heroes showing up for membership in the Defenders, a number of heroes shown on the cover did not even appear in this issue, these characters are: Iron Man (who does appear briefly in the next issue, but not to join the group), Human Torch, Power Man (Who has already previously been a member of the Defenders), Angel (Who would eventually join up with the Defenders at a later date), and Spider-Woman. * Lunatik next appears in Defenders #64 * Letters page 'Defenders Dialogue' with letters from Jim Rivers, Dave Cerreta, Jacob Lasky, and Richard Bedard. *During the documentary, Dollar Bill compares the Defenders to a Wookiee who is wiping out stormtroopers. The issue was published in 1978 and this is a reference to then-recent film Star Wars (1977). **In the universe of the film series, The Wookiee are a humanoid race, covered in fur and possessing incredible strength. They resemble Primates and have been compared in appearance to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch of North American folklore. The heroic character Chewbacca (nicknamed "Chewie") is a Wookiee. **In the universe of the film series, the stormtroopers are the soldiers of the Galactic Empire. Their main activities are establishing imperial authority over a vast galaxy and putting down revolts. The stormtroopers typically wear a distinctive white battle armor, which completely covers their bodies and faces. The armors serve to mask their individual appearances. The members of the stormtroopers are mostly nameless and indistinguishable from each other. The name of the stormtroopers likely derives from the stormtroopers of Earth-1218, specialist soldiers of the German Army during World War I. *During the documentary, Dollar Bill compares the monstrous form of Dr. Strange to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. This is another name for the Gill-man, a monster character created by Universal Studios. The Gill-man appeared in three 1950s films: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). The Gill-man is an amphibious creature, depicted as a humanoid fish who can breath in and out of water. The creature is depicted as having webbed hands, sharp claws, scaly skin which is resistant to injuries, and a regenerative healing factor which keeps restoring him to life. He is supposed to be the last survivor of an ancient race. In the first two films of his series, the Gil-man develops an infatuation with Homo sapiens women, and attempts to abduct two separate women (Kay Lawrence and Helen Dobson) in an attempt to mate with them. *During the documentary, Dollar Bill informs people that the Daily Bugle is wrong about Spider-Man. This is part of a long-running plot in the Spider-related books, where the Bugle publishes news items and editorials which depict Spider-Man as a villain and/or a menace. The misinformation campaign and the negative publicity cause most people to fear and distrust Spider-Man, despite his lifelong efforts to be a hero. The campaign is typically depicted as a result of the editorial policy of J. Jonah Jameson, who is personally biased against Spidey. *The scene involving the Presence takes place in the Soviet Union. This is a topical reference, due to the Sliding Timescale. In Earth-1218, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and its 15 constituent republics gained independence. *The subplot involving the Presence continues in the following issue, Defenders Vol 1 63 (September, 1978). *This issue is the first appearance of the Defenders for a Day. Their storyline continues in the following issue, Defenders Vol 1 63 (September, 1978). *With so many characters involved in the story, most of them get few speaking lines. Polaris is the only one with no speaking lines. *The Marvel Chronology Project, which covers character appearances, has the following information about the characters of the issue: **Black Goliath previously appeared in Spider-Woman Vol 1 4 (July, 1978). **Captain Marvel previously appeared in Thor Vol 1 271 (May, 1978). **Captain Ultra previously appeared in Fantastic Four Vol 1 178 (January, 1977). **Dollar Bill next appears in Defenders Vol 1 64 (October, 1978). **Falcon previously appeared in Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 71 (July, 1978). **Havok previously appeared in Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 70 (June, 1978). **Hercules previously appeared in Avengers Vol 1 177 (November, 1978). **Iron Fist previously appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist Vol 1 53 (October, 1978). **Jack of Hearts previously appeared in Marvel Premiere Vol 1 44 (October, 1978). **Marvel Man previously appeared in Captain America Vol 1 218 (February, 1978). ** Ms. Marvel previously appeared in Avengers Annual Vol 1 8 (1978). **Nova previously appeared in Thor Vol 1 271 (May, 1978). **Paladin previously appeared in Daredevil Vol 1 154 (September, 1978). **Polaris previously appeared in Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 69 (May, 1978). **Prowler previously appeared in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Vol 1 21 (February, 1976). **Son of Satan previously appeared in Tomb of Dracula Vol 1 53 (February, 1977). **Stingray previously appeared in Incredible Hulk Vol 1 221 (March, 1978). **Tagak previously appeared in Daredevil Vol 1 72 (January, 1971). **Torpedo previously appeared in Marvel Premiere Vol 1 40 (February, 1978). **White Tiger previously appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 23 (October, 1978). | Trivia = | Recommended = * Defenders Vol 1 60 * Defenders Vol 1 61 | Links = }}